Free Web NovelChapter 161: Chapter 161: Welcoming Gala (Part 1)
Wu Yun blew up. At least, he blew up on the school forums and within his own college.
Ever since the School of Economics and Management’s welcome party was successfully held at the arts center, Wu Yun’s rendition of "As Long As You Love Me" had completely captured the hearts of the school’s freshmen.
Along with his performance, details about Wu Yun from the school forums also started to spread. Many people now knew that this talented singer was also tall, rich, and handsome.
But even knowing that Wu Yun had a girlfriend couldn’t stop some girls from trying to steal him away.
Over the past two days, he’d been getting a flood of QQ friend requests, and Wu Yun had no idea how they’d gotten his number.
Of course, it wasn’t as dramatic as what you see in TV shows—no huge crowd of girls swarming his classroom to block the door and give him flowers.
Aside from more girls adding him on WeChat and QQ, the only other difference was feeling more eyes on him during class, especially in big public lectures like Si Xiu.
During the break between classes, Li Shiming had just stepped out to use the restroom.
A pleasant, sweet scent wafted over as a beautiful girl with long hair draping over her shoulders, wearing a black dress, sat down in the seat next to Wu Yun.
Her round, oval face was tinged with a slight blush. She squinted her dark eyes slightly and said with a smile,
"Hi Wu Yun, I’m Zhang Qiuyue, from Business Administration, Class 3."
Wu Yun put down his phone, shifted slightly to create some distance, and asked politely, "Hi, can I help you with something?"
Zhang Qiuyue chuckled, took out her own phone, and said, "I love singing too. After hearing you sing the night before last, I felt like I have a long way to go. I was hoping to add you on WeChat to learn from you from time to time. I wonder if you’d be willing to give me that opportunity?"
Seeing Wu Yun’s hesitation, Zhang Qiuyue quickly added, "I know you have a girlfriend, Wu Yun. I’ll only ask you about singing, I promise I won’t bother you two too much! And I won’t cause any misunderstandings with your girlfriend! If she really does get the wrong idea about me, I’ll explain it to her face-to-face! How does that sound?"
’Here we go! Here we go! That familiar routine again!’
Hearing this familiar script, Wu Yun added Zhang Qiuyue’s WeChat without much hesitation.
Watching Zhang Qiuyue’s retreating figure, Wu Yun just smiled.
Name: Zhang Qiuyue
Age: 18
Appearance: 92
Figure: 88
Special: 90
Skills: Singing (Proficient), Tea Art (Proficient)
...
The stage for the university’s main welcome party had been under construction since yesterday. After a full day of setup and testing, it was finally ready to welcome several thousand freshmen, as well as some sophomores and juniors.
Neat rows of chairs were set up on the athletic field’s artificial turf, and they quickly filled up with students from every major.
Zhao Yuqing stared in surprise at a long canvas bag Liu Yongheng was carrying.
"Liu Yongheng, what are you carrying?"
Liu Yongheng placed the canvas bag by his feet and said mysteriously, "This is something of Wu Yun’s. It might be needed later."
"Right, right! I’ve got a bag here, too!" Li Shiming and Pang Guang each put the bags they were holding on the ground.
Just as Zhao Yuqing was about to get to the bottom of it, a loud blast of music erupted from the speakers behind them, followed by the hosts’ enthusiastic opening remarks.
A magnetic male voice rang out: "Time flies, and as we focus on today, we once again stand at a brand new beginning."
A female voice continued the script: "With surging youth and soaring vitality, we welcome another year of bright young talents."
They went on like this, alternating one line at a time.
"Our dreams set sail from here, carrying the passion and ideals of Shida University’s students!"
"Our youth blossoms anew here, writing a splendid new Chapter for Shida University’s students!"
"Respected leaders and teachers!"
"Dear students!"
"Good evening, everyone!"
"This is the 2014 ’Red Classics, Accompanying Me on My Journey!’ Welcome Party, live from the Sichuan Normal University Chenglong Campus!"
After they finished their lines together, the male host, dressed smartly in a suit, continued, "Tonight, we will use song to express the spirit of youth and dance to spread the wings of our dreams. I’m your host, Wang Liang!"
The female host next to him, wearing a slim-fitting blue evening gown, said with a smile, "Tonight, we will use faith to chase the footsteps of youth and ideals to build a paradise of dreams. I’m your host, Li Ling!"
"Before the party begins, please allow us to introduce the leaders who have graced us with their presence tonight. They are..."
It seemed there was no escaping this tedious, ceremonial part. After the hosts introduced the deans of the various schools and the university president, they recited a few more flowery lines before finally announcing the start of the party.
The opening act was a crucial part of the entire show, as it would set the tone for the audience’s anticipation of the performances to follow.
"First, please enjoy a street dance performance of ’How You Like That’ by the school’s dance club!"
Amidst the cheers of the crowd, a dozen or so heavily made-up girls walked onto the stage. They wore baggy pants and crop tops, and they took their rehearsed positions.
The music started, and their perfectly synchronized movements, a feast for the eyes, followed the rhythm—sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes fluid, sometimes sharp. They occasionally pulled off some difficult moves, drawing loud cheers from the audience below.
The cheers were especially loud from the area to the front-left of the stage.
"Liu Yongheng! Li Shiming! Could you two have some shame? Why are you shouting so loud? What’s so great to look at? They’re not even as good as Wu Yun!" Liu Qian scolded, turning around with a frown.
Seeing the murderous glares from the female students around them, the two gulped. Liu Yongheng bowed obsequiously and said, "My apologies, everyone! I haven’t gotten out much, just got a little excited! My mind is full of... tits!"
Li Shiming kicked him from the side, and Liu Yongheng snapped out of it. "Oh, oh! I misspoke! My mind is full of dance moves! Haha!"
Just as Liu Yongheng was regretting his slip of the tongue and dying of social embarrassment,
the dancers on stage were still going, busting out one street dance move after another.
The moves looked simple, but stringing them together smoothly was a real challenge of coordination.
As the final note of the music faded, the girls on stage struck a final pose.
Their chests heaved as they gasped for breath. Only when cheers and applause erupted from the audience did the dance group break their pose and exit from both sides of the stage.
The moment the dancers cleared the stage, the voices of the male and female hosts, playing off each other, echoed across the field from the speakers.
They rattled off a few more rhyming lines full of hope and encouragement before getting to the point.
"Next, please enjoy the chorus ’Tomorrow Will Be Better,’ brought to you by the freshmen from the School of Foreign Languages. Here’s wishing for a better tomorrow!"
Most freshmen who got into Sichuan Normal University had a decent level of English, so they understood what "tomorrow will be better" meant.
Just as most people were looking confused, wondering if they’d ever heard this song before,
the sound of a piano rang out, and the familiar melody struck many as a song they’d heard somewhere before.
As the music progressed, many people in the audience began to hum along softly, waving their glow sticks in time with the two male and female singers on stage.
The song was old, but the performers were new!
